Charities benefit from lottery fund
A charity that uses the heritage of sport and memories to tackle dementia, depression and loneliness in older people is among 588 organisations sharing £19 million from the Big Lottery Fund.
Sporting Memories Network, which has 80 groups across the UK, will use the funding to train more than 100 volunteers in communities in London, Manchester, Yorkshire, Bristol and the South West to establish 64 new groups in partnership with sports clubs, libraries, housing associations and universities. Younger people will work alongside older people recording personal sporting memories, researching local sporting heritage and getting involved in indoor game.
The charity supports older people by engaging them in social activities and helping recall memories of watching or playing sport. It receives £483,373 to establish more groups which use reminiscence, storytelling and indoor sports to engage older people, mainly men, to help them gain new friendships and improved confidence and health.
